X Premium vs Premium+ ROI Calculator
Break-even between $8 a month and $40 a month, using your own impressions, the real Original Content Rewards gates, and what X Pro actually costs you now.
Short answer
Premium at $8 a month and Premium+ at $40 a month have identical Original Content Rewards eligibility. The extra $32 a month buys features, mainly X Pro and no ads, not payouts. If X Pro is your only reason for Premium+, Premium plus a dedicated scheduler costs less and does more.
Your numbers
Excluding replies. The gate is measured over 90 days.
Your payout assumptions
X publishes no per-impression rate for Original Content Rewards. Both fields above are your assumptions, not our estimates, and the result moves linearly with each. Any calculator that shows you a payout without asking has made the number up.
Original Content Rewards eligibility
500 verified followers
You entered 1,200.
500,000 verified Home Timeline impressions in 90 days
Your monthly figure projects to 450,000 over 90 days.
Active Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business
Premium at $8 a month satisfies this. Basic at $3 does not.
18 or older
Assumed. The program requires it.
You are 50,000 impressions short over 90 days, which is about 16,667 more per month. Until you clear it, a Premium subscription is a features purchase and pays nothing back.
Cost against estimated payout
Monthly figures. Month to month prices.
| Tier | Cost | Est. rewards | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0.00 | not eligible | $0.00 |
| Basic | $3.00 | not eligible | $-3.00 |
| Premium | $8.00 | $0.00 | $-8.00 |
| Premium+ (includes X Pro) | $40.00 | $0.00 | $-40.00 |
Estimated rewards are identical on Premium and Premium+ because the eligibility gate is identical. Nothing published by X says the tier changes your rate.
The Premium+ break-even
Premium+ costs $32.00 more per month than Premium, which is $384.00 a year. Rewards eligibility does not change.
For that extra spend to pay for itself on rewards alone, Premium+ would have to generate 32,000 extra qualified impressions a month, which at your assumed 10% paying-viewer share means about 320,000 extra total impressions a month. Premium+ does not grant reach. It grants X Pro and an ad-free timeline.
Annual billing saves
$12 a year on Premium ($84 against $96), $85 a year on Premium+ ($395 against $480).
Basic at $3 a month
Does not satisfy the rewards subscription gate. It is the worst tier to sit on if payouts are the goal.
You are paying for X Pro
X Pro, previously TweetDeck, moved behind Premium+ on 2026-03-26. If it is the reason you hold Premium+, the honest comparison is not Premium against Premium+, it is Premium+ against Premium plus a real scheduler.
You keep full Original Content Rewards eligibility on Premium, and you get scheduling, an evergreen queue, AI drafting, and a REST API and MCP server that X Pro has never had.
X subscription prices, as of 2026-08-31
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | Rewards eligible | X Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free | No | Not included |
| Basic | $3 | Monthly only | No | Not included |
| Premium | $8 | $84 | Yes | Not included |
| Premium+ | $40 | $395 | Yes | Included |
Free
No subscription. Not eligible for Original Content Rewards.
Basic
Basic does not satisfy the rewards gate, which names Premium, Premium+ and Premium Business.
Premium
Satisfies the rewards subscription gate. X Pro is not included since 2026-03-26.
Premium+
Same rewards eligibility as Premium, plus X Pro and no ads in For You and Following.
Premium Business is priced per seat and is not modelled here. Rewards eligibility rules from help.x.com/en/using-x/original-content-rewards.
What changed in the rewards program
Creator Revenue Sharing final payout
The old ads-in-replies program pays out for the last time.
Original Content Rewards enrollment opens
The new program starts, paid biweekly on qualified impressions from paying Premium users, post at least 50 percent visible.
X Pro moved behind Premium+
The column dashboard formerly known as TweetDeck stopped being available on Premium.
Payouts run through Stripe and through X Money. Both rails are supported, so a Stripe account is enough to get paid.
Keep Premium at $8, replace the $40 part
OpenTweet Pro is $11.99 a month and does the scheduling X Pro does, plus an evergreen queue, AI drafting in your own voice, a REST API and a hosted MCP server for AI agents. Your rewards eligibility stays on Premium either way.
7-day free trial, then $11.99/mo. Cancel anytime.
X Premium ROI FAQ
How much do X Premium and Premium+ cost?
Premium is $8 a month or $84 a year. Premium+ is $40 a month or $395 a year. Basic is $3 a month. Paying annually saves $12 a year on Premium and $85 a year on Premium+.
Do I need Premium+ for Original Content Rewards?
No. The subscription gate names an active Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business subscription. Premium at $8 a month satisfies it, so the extra $32 a month for Premium+ buys features rather than eligibility.
What are the Original Content Rewards eligibility gates?
An active Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business subscription, 18 or older, at least 500 verified followers, and at least 500,000 verified Home Timeline impressions in the prior 90 days, replies excluded. Payouts are biweekly on qualified impressions from paying Premium users, with the post at least 50 percent visible.
Why does this calculator make me supply the payout rate?
Because X does not publish a per-impression rate for Original Content Rewards, and any tool that shows you one without asking has invented it. The rate and the share of your audience on paid Premium are your assumptions, and the output moves linearly with both.
Is X Pro still free?
No. X Pro, previously TweetDeck, moved behind Premium+ on 2026-03-26. If it is the only reason you hold Premium+, you are paying $40 a month for a column dashboard, and dropping to Premium keeps your rewards eligibility intact.
Do payouts go through X Money or Stripe?
Both. Original Content Rewards payouts run through Stripe and through X Money. Stripe remains a supported payout rail, so you do not need an X Money account to get paid.
What happens to the old creator revenue sharing program?
The old Creator Revenue Sharing program makes its final payout on 2026-09-07. Enrollment in Original Content Rewards opens on 2026-09-08.
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See also OpenTweet pricing, all free tools, and features.